Failure to renew vehicle

AN ACT Relating to the enforcement of failure to renew an expired 1
vehicle registration; reenacting and amending RCW 46.16A.030; and 2
prescribing penalties. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 46.16A.030 and 2019 c 459 s 3 and 2019 c 423 s 203 5
are each reenacted and amended to read as follows: 6
(1) Vehicles must be registered as required by this chapter and 7
must display license plates or decals assigned by the department.8
(2) It is unlawful for a person to operate any vehicle on a 9
public highway of this state without having in full force and effect 10
a current and proper vehicle registration and displaying license 11
plates on the vehicle. 12
(3) Vehicle license plates or registration certificates, whether 13
original issues or duplicates, may not be issued or furnished by the 14
department until the applicant makes satisfactory application for a 15
certificate of title or presents satisfactory evidence that a 16
certificate of title covering the vehicle has been previously issued.17
(4) Failure to make initial registration before operating a 18
vehicle on the public highways of this state is a traffic infraction. 19
A person committing this infraction must pay a fine of ((five hundred 20
twenty-nine dollars )) $529, which may not be suspended or reduced. 21
S-3891.1
SENATE BILL 6176
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators King and Liias
Read first time 01/15/26. Referred to Committee on Transportation.
p. 1 SB 6176
This fine is in addition to any delinquent taxes and fees that must 1
be deposited and distributed in the same manner as if the taxes and 2
fees were properly paid in a timely fashion. The ((five hundred 3
twenty-nine dollar )) $529 fine must be deposited into the vehicle 4
licensing fraud account created in the state treasury in RCW 5
46.68.250. 6
(5)(a) Failure to renew an expired registration before operating 7
a vehicle on the public highways of this state is a traffic 8
infraction. 9
(b) Failure to renew an expired registration of a vehicle that is 10
parked, standing, and unoccupied (i) on the public right-of-way; (ii) 11
on publicly owned property; or (iii) within a privately owned, off-12
street parking facility imposing vehicle parking fees, is a traffic 13
infraction to the registered owner. Enforcement under (b)(iii) of 14
this subsection is only authorized if the facility owner consents to 15
such enforcement and sufficient notice is provided to persons 16
accessing such facilities. Such an infraction under this subsection 17
(5)(b) is not part of the registered owner's driving record under RCW 18
46.52.101 and 46.52.120, and must be processed in the same manner as 19
a parking infraction, including for the purposes of RCW 3.50.100, 20
35.20.220, 46.16A.120, and 46.20.270(2). The penalty for failure to 21
renew an expired registration as enforced under this subsection 22
(5)(b) is $145 if the registration is expired for two months or less 23
and $248 if the registration is expired for more than two months.24
(6) It is a gross misdemeanor for a resident, as identified in 25
RCW 46.16A.140, to register a vehicle in another state, evading the 26
payment of any tax or vehicle license fee imposed in connection with 27
registration. It is punishable, in lieu of the fine in subsection (4) 28
of this section, as follows: 29
(a) For a first offense: 30
(i) Up to ((three hundred sixty-four )) 364 days in the county 31
jail; 32
(ii) Payment of a fine of ((five hundred twenty-nine dollars )) 33
$529 plus any applicable assessments, which may not be suspended or 34
reduced. The fine of ((five hundred twenty-nine dollars )) $529 must 35
be deposited into the vehicle licensing fraud account created in the 36
state treasury in RCW 46.68.250; 37
(iii) A fine of ((one thousand dollars )) $1,000 to be deposited 38
into the vehicle licensing fraud account created in the state 39
treasury in RCW 46.68.250, which may not be suspended or reduced; and40
p. 2 SB 6176
(iv) The delinquent taxes and fees, which must be deposited and 1
distributed in the same manner as if the taxes and fees were properly 2
paid in a timely fashion, and which may not be suspended or reduced;3
(b) For a second or subsequent offense: 4
(i) Up to ((three hundred sixty-four )) 364 days in the county 5
jail; 6
(ii) Payment of a fine of ((five hundred twenty-nine dollars )) 7
$529 plus any applicable assessments, which may not be suspended or 8
reduced, except as provided in RCW 10.05.180. The fine of ((five 9
hundred twenty-nine dollars)) $529 must be deposited into the vehicle 10
licensing fraud account created in the state treasury in RCW 11
46.68.250; 12
(iii) A fine of ((five thousand dollars )) $5,000 to be deposited 13
into the vehicle licensing fraud account created in the state 14
treasury in RCW 46.68.250, which may not be suspended or reduced; and15
(iv) The amount of delinquent taxes and fees, which must be 16
deposited and distributed in the same manner as if the taxes and fees 17
were properly paid in a timely fashion, and which may not be 18
suspended or reduced. 19
(7) A vehicle with an expired registration of more than ((forty-20
five)) 45 days parked on a public street may be impounded by a police 21
officer under RCW 46.55.113(2). 22
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p. 3 SB 6176